2

S. SOPHASAN AND R. DOBIAS

proposed the species name in honor of H .R.H. Princess Sirindhorn Thepratanasuda for
her gracious interest in the Kingdom's wildlife. Thus, P. sirintarae is also known as
the "Princess Bird."
Although 16 years have passed since Kitti collected the first specimen, almost
nothing is known about the river martin's life history: scientists know only that the
birds occur at Bung Boraphet from at least December until February and that they
roost at night in reed beds. The species is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), recorded
as "status indeterminate" in the ICBP Red Data Book (KING, 1981) and as "endangered"
in the ICBP World Conservation Priorities (ICBP, 1981).

HABITAT
Bung Boraphet (Fig. 1), the only known location of the White-eyed River
Martin, is a fresh -water reservoir and marsh 20 km east of Nakhon Sawan in central
Thailand. The reservoir was created in 1928 when construction of a dam and a series
of dikes impounded water from Khlong Boraphet, inundating a natural swamp near the
headwaters of the Chao Phraya River. This led to the establishment of a fresh-water
fisheries, under supervision of the Royal Fisheries Department, covering a total of
approximately 25,600 ha with an average depth of 3 m. A "no fishing area" (6241 ha)
and a "restricted fishing area" (15,040 ha) were delineated in 1947. In 1979, the Wildlife Conservation Division (WCD) of the Royal Forest Department established a nonhunting area of 10,600 ha within the reservoir and marsh (WCD, n.d.).
The reservoir's ten major islands are dominated by Phragmites karka, which
is generally found in the center, and surrounded by Coix aquattca, Eichornia crassipes
and lsachne globosa, among others.
Shoreline vegetation is predominantly C oix
aquatica, Polygonum tomentosum and Phragmites karka. Representative species in
the surrounding marsh area include Trapa bispinosa, Cyperus difformis, C. p/atystylis
and Nelumbo nucifera (INLAND FISHERIES DIVISION, 1973). In addition, lotus cultivation
has spread into many. parts of the lake.
TRAPPING HISTORY AND METHODS
Part of the history of the river martin's exploitation at Bung Boraphet was
unraveled by amateur ornithologists from the Bangkok Bird Club who visited the
reservoir in 1980 and met a villager, Pan Yoonaiyanethr, who had lived in a houseboat
on the reservoir for 30 years. Formerly, Pan made. a living .collecting crocodile eggs,
which he hatched and raised to a size of 1 to 2 feet. He then sold the animals for
about 500 baht (US$25) apiece, a profitable trade until overharvesting eventually

WHITE-EYED RIVER MARTIN

Figure 1.

Bung Boraphet: lotus cultivation (foreground), and reed island (background).

Figure 2.

Throw net being flung over swallows roosting in the reed bed.

S. SOPHASAN AND R. D OBIAS

Figure 3.

Mr. Pan erecting the funn el trap o n a floating reed bed.

Figure 4.

Removing birds from the funnel net.

S. SOPHASAN AND R. DOBIAS

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--

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I
I

J10m
I

I
I1

I
14-5m

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-"50'
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Figure 5.

Plan and cross section of the swallow trap.

A, top view; B. side view.

S. SOPHASAN AND R. DOBIAS

Table 1. Capture results of funnel trap vs. throw net during the ACW study.
No. of birds per capture attempt
Funnel Trap
Throw Net

Date
January

February

March

13
15
16
12
14
15
5
6

17
36
25
5
104*
143
43
152
187

Total

338

,;, On this occasion, mist nets were attached as 'arms' to either side of the funnel entrance to
increase the catchment area.

searched the sand bars of three northern Thai rivers-the Wang, the Yom and the
Nan-but did not find any river martins (THONGLONGYA, 1969) . KING & KANWANICH
(1978) hypothesized that if river martins do nest along these rivers, then March and
April are the only available months because river levels begin to rise in May and
cover most sandbars until January, when the birds are at Bung Boraphet. Still nothing
is known about where the species breeds.
There have been numerous other attempts by amateur and professional ornithologists to see the White-eyed River Martin in the wild, but only two have been
successful. The first was on 3 February 1977 by KING & KANWANICH (1978) who saw
6 adults flying over the reservoir at dusk. During 1979 a total of eleven birding groups,
including the Bangkok Bird Club, searched unsuccessfully for the river martin in the
lake. In January 1980, DR. DAVID OGLE (pers. comm.) saw 4 immature martins perched
in a tree on an island.
DISCUSSION

AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

Negative results from the ACW study and an absence of sightings since early
1980, despite numerous observational efforts, cast ominous doubts over the survival of
the White-eyed River Martin. Perhaps an even more significant indicator is the status
of Bung Boraphet's swallow population as a whole.
Although no swallow census has
ever been conducted, villagers claim that swallows numbered into the "hundreds of

10

S. SOPHASAN AND R. DOBIAS

Bung Boraphet, it is apparent that strong enforcement of Thailand's wildlife laws is

necessary to help the martin survive, and allow the swallow population as a whole to
mcrease.
Protective measures should not rely solely on a military-like crackdown on
villagers who have been harvesting these birds each winter for decades. Rather,
enforcement might be easier if combined with other tactics such as provision of alternative employment, which could take advantage of the budding tourist interest in Bung
Boraphet. Creative thinking combined with quick and forceful action represent the
best hope for Thailand's "Princess Bird."
A C KN 0 W LEDGE MEN T S
This work was fully supported by Dr. Boonsong Lekagul, to whom we owe
our deepest gratitude. We would like to thank Dr. Elliott McClure for his generosity
in allowing us to publish some of the few photographic records of the ''Princess bird".
Mr. David S. Melville took all the photographs during the trapping attempt by the
ACW group. He also cordially sketched the funnel trap setting. Miss Suthada Homjun
typed the final manuscript. Finally, we would like to thank Dr. Warren Brockelman
for carefully reading and correcting drafts of this report, but most of all for his unending
encouragement.
REFERENCES
ASSOCIATION FOR THE CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE (ACW) OF THAILAND. 1981. A Search for
the White-eyed River Martin, Pseudochelidon sirintarae, at Bung Boraphet, central Thailand.
Mimeo, 10 p.
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR BIRD PRESERVATION (ICBP). 1981. ICBP world conservation
priorities. ICBP Newsletter, Jan. 1981.
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE (IUCN) . 1979. Conservation/or Thailand
-Policy Guidelines. Vol. I, il, IUCN, Morges.
INLAND FISHERIES DIVISION. 1973. 197 2 Annual Report of the Fisheries Research Station (Bung
Boraphet) . Royal Thai Fisheries Dept., Bangkok (in Thai).
KING, B. and S. KANWANICH. I 978. First wild sighting of the White -eyed River Martin, Pseudochelidon sirintarae. Bioi. Conserv. 13: 183-185.
KING, W.B. 1981. Endangered Birds of the World : The ICBP Red Data Book. Smithsonian
Instit ution Press, Washington, D.C.
MCCLURE, H.E. 1969. Migratory Animals Pathological Survey Annual Progress Report 1968.
US Army Research and Development Group, San Fransisco.
THONGLONGYA, Kitti. 1968. A new martin of the genus Pseudochelidon from Thailand. Thai
Nat. Sci. Papers, Fauna Series No. 1. Applied Scientific Research Corporation of
Thailand, Bangkok.
THONGLONGYA, Kitti. I 969. Report on an expedition in Northern Thailand to look for breeding
sites of Pseudochelidon sirintarae (2 1 May to 27 June 1969) . Research Report, Applied
Scientific Research Corporation of Thailand, Bangkok.
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION DIVISION (no date). The First 5-year Economic Plan (10 October 1979-30
September 1984) for Bung Boraphet Non-hunting Area, Nakhon Sawan Province . Royal
Thai Forest Department, Barigkok (in Thai).